Home > Reading > Daily Reading – April 7, 2021

Micah 7:7–15 (Listen)

  But as for me, I will look to the LORD;
    I will wait for the God of my salvation;
    my God will hear me.
  Rejoice not over me, O my enemy;
    when I fall, I shall rise;
  when I sit in darkness,
    the LORD will be a light to me.
  I will bear the indignation of the LORD
    because I have sinned against him,
  until he pleads my cause
    and executes judgment for me.
  He will bring me out to the light;
    I shall look upon his vindication.
10   Then my enemy will see,
    and shame will cover her who said to me,
    “Where is the LORD your God?”
  My eyes will look upon her;
    now she will be trampled down
    like the mire of the streets.
11   A day for the building of your walls!
    In that day the boundary shall be far extended.
12   In that day they will come to you,
    from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
  and from Egypt to the River,
    from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13   But the earth will be desolate
    because of its inhabitants,
    for the fruit of their deeds.
14   Shepherd your people with your staff,
    the flock of your inheritance,
  who dwell alone in a forest
    in the midst of a garden land;
  let them graze in Bashan and Gilead
    as in the days of old.
15   As in the days when you came out of the land of Egypt,
    I will show them marvelous things.

Acts 3:1–10 (Listen)

The Lame Beggar Healed

3:1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

John 15:1–11 (Listen)

I Am the True Vine

15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Morning Psalms

Psalm 99 (Listen)

The Lord Our God Is Holy

99:1   The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble!
    He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
  The LORD is great in Zion;
    he is exalted over all the peoples.
  Let them praise your great and awesome name!
    Holy is he!
  The King in his might loves justice.
    You have established equity;
  you have executed justice
    and righteousness in Jacob.
  Exalt the LORD our God;
    worship at his footstool!
    Holy is he!
  Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
    Samuel also was among those who called upon his name.
    They called to the LORD, and he answered them.
  In the pillar of the cloud he spoke to them;
    they kept his testimonies
    and the statute that he gave them.
  O LORD our God, you answered them;
    you were a forgiving God to them,
    but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
  Exalt the LORD our God,
    and worship at his holy mountain;
    for the LORD our God is holy!

Psalm 147:1–12 (Listen)

He Heals the Brokenhearted

147:1   Praise the LORD!
  For it is good to sing praises to our God;
    for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
  The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
  He heals the brokenhearted
    and binds up their wounds.
  He determines the number of the stars;
    he gives to all of them their names.
  Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.
  The LORD lifts up the humble;
    he casts the wicked to the ground.
  Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
    make melody to our God on the lyre!
  He covers the heavens with clouds;
    he prepares rain for the earth;
    he makes grass grow on the hills.
  He gives to the beasts their food,
    and to the young ravens that cry.
10   His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11   but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
    in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12   Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
    Praise your God, O Zion!

Evening Psalms

Psalm 9 (Listen)

I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds

To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

9:1   I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
    I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
  I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
  When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before your presence.
  For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
  You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
  The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.
  But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
  and he judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with uprightness.
  The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.
10   And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11   Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his deeds!
12   For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13   Be gracious to me, O LORD!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14   that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of the daughter of Zion
    I may rejoice in your salvation.
15   The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16   The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah
17   The wicked shall return to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.
18   For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19   Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
20   Put them in fear, O LORD!
    Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah

Psalm 118 (Listen)

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

118:1   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!
  Let Israel say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  Let the house of Aaron say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  Let those who fear the LORD say,
    “His steadfast love endures forever.”
  Out of my distress I called on the LORD;
    the LORD answered me and set me free.
  The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
  The LORD is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
  It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in man.
  It is better to take refuge in the LORD
    than to trust in princes.
10   All nations surrounded me;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
11   They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12   They surrounded me like bees;
    they went out like a fire among thorns;
    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13   I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
    but the LORD helped me.
14   The LORD is my strength and my song;
    he has become my salvation.
15   Glad songs of salvation
    are in the tents of the righteous:
  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,
16     the right hand of the LORD exalts,
    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!”
17   I shall not die, but I shall live,
    and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18   The LORD has disciplined me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
19   Open to me the gates of righteousness,
    that I may enter through them
    and give thanks to the LORD.
20   This is the gate of the LORD;
    the righteous shall enter through it.
21   I thank you that you have answered me
    and have become my salvation.
22   The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone.
23   This is the LORD’s doing;
    it is marvelous in our eyes.
24   This is the day that the LORD has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25   Save us, we pray, O LORD!
    O LORD, we pray, give us success!
26   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!
    We bless you from the house of the LORD.
27   The LORD is God,
    and he has made his light to shine upon us.
  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,
    up to the horns of the altar!
28   You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
    you are my God; I will extol you.
29   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
    for his steadfast love endures forever!

There are no festivals or commemorations for today.

This daily prayer and Bible reading guide, Devoted to Prayer (based on Acts 2:42), was conceived and prepared by the Rev. Andrew S. Ames Fuller, director of communications for the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). After a challenging year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been provided with a unique opportunity to revitalize the ancient practice of daily prayer and Scripture reading in our homes. While the Reading the Word of God three-year lectionary provided a much-needed and refreshing calendar for our congregations to engage in Scripture reading, this calendar includes a missing component of daily devotion: prayer. This guide is to provide the average layperson and pastor with the simple tools for sorting through the busyness of their lives and reclaiming an act of daily discipleship with their Lord. The daily readings follow the Lutheran Book of Worship two-year daily lectionary, which reflect the church calendar closely. The commemorations are adapted from Philip H. Pfatteicher’s New Book of Festivals and Commemorations, a proposed common calendar of the saints that builds from the Lutheran Book of Worship, but includes saints from many of those churches in ecumenical conversation with the NALC. The introductory portion is adapted from Christ Church (Plano)’s Pray Daily. Our hope is that this calendar and guide will provide new life for congregations learning and re-learning to pray in the midst of a difficult and changing world.

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